1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vehicle based universal control systems and methods for remotely controllable garage door opening systems.
2. Background Art
Garage door openers, security gates and the like may be operated from a remote control. As an example only, the remote control system may be a remotely controlled garage door opener (GDO) having a receiver associated with the GDO, and at least one remote transmitter, which could be placed or carried in an automotive vehicle for use within the vehicle to operate the GDO system.
Customer wishes and safety considerations suggest the desirability for integrating such a remote control into the interior of the automotive vehicle. In that regard, it is known to provide a programmable or “trainable” garage door transceiver in a vehicle, where the transceiver receives and learns characteristics of a GDO activation signal from an existing GDO remote transmitter and then, when prompted by a user, generates and transmits an activation signal having the same characteristics in order to operate the GDO system. One problem with such devices is the need to put a complex electronic device within an automobile, where space is at a premium. Another problem with such devices is the difficulty experienced by users programming such devices to work with their GDO systems.
Another proposed solution is a device that must be wired into the existing GDO circuit in order to operate. However, installation of such a device may be beyond the capabilities of some users. Yet another proposed solution is to place an existing GDO remote transmitter into a wall-mountable device that includes a receiver. A transmitter in the vehicle configured to operate with the device transmits a signal for receipt by the device receiver. The device mechanically operates the existing GDO remote transmitter based on the received signals from the vehicle transmitter. A difficulty associated with this device is designing a housing or receptacle capable of actuating the buttons employed in the wide range of available GDO remote transmitters.
What is needed is a universal vehicle-based remote control system and method that does not require complex electronics within the vehicle, does not require wiring into the GDO system, and is more easily set up by a vehicle owner. The present invention provides a vehicle-based control system and method that is compatible with a wide variety of GDO systems, and is capable of interaction with a user to determine operating characteristics of the user's GDO system.